Up until recently, the hood was mostly a taboo clothing item in Japan. The common thinking was that only criminals and people who had something to hide would wear a hood over their head while out and about on a perfectly clear day. Anyone who bought a hoodie or sweatshirt was doomed to leave the hood unused, dangling lifelessly behind them.

But thanks to the power of the internet, a new trend in Japan is spreading: “hooded girls,” basically just photos of girls wearing hoodies with *gasp!* their hoods up. Because nothing turns something from kowai (scary) to kawaii (cute) faster than pretty girls on Twitter.

It’s no secret that Japan loves Disney’s recent hit Frozen, known in Japan as Anna and the Snow Queen. With the thermometer hitting the single digits (Celsius) in Japan, it’s getting pretty chilly outside these days, leading to a new Frozen related trend.

The trend, which combines lyrics from the Frozen hit “Let It Go” and the winter weather, is both stupid and oh so entertaining. Believe me, you’ll want to do it too.

There is something thrilling about finding people who like the same things as you do. You finally get the chance to gush about your passion with people who can match your enthusiasm. And when like-minded people get together, they come up with some weird ways to show their love for their particular fandom.

Take this recent Twitter hashtag. The trend is for girls to post an honest drawing of yourself as a male high school student with some personal information. While a lot of girls are posting some pretty ridiculous drawings re-imagining themselves as high school boys, girls who identify themselves as “fujoshi” have posted some pretty over-the-top renditions.

In the month of September at limited locations in Tokyo, the nation’s perennial favorite search engine Yahoo! Japan is offering a one-of-a-kind experience. By stepping into their motion simulator and strapping on a VR headset, you can virtually yet literally ride the waves of popularity of any topic of your choosing as if it were a roller coaster.

How flexible are you? Touching our toes without bending our knees was easy peasy for most of us as kids, but as we grew, we started to lose our flexibility as our body stiffened. Ever experienced the feeling of belatedly realizing that you can no longer make your body bend the way you want it to without substantial effort? If you’re one of those people, you’re not going to enjoy China’s latest photo craze, which involves posing with one leg held up like a gun. Are you flexible enough to join the photo-snapping fun?

While “twerking” and “Harlem Shake” were among the top search terms in the US, our neighbors to the west were busy Googling other, more wholesome words. Let’s take a look at the top trending search terms in Japan this year!

Ever wondered what people in Japan are looking at on the internet? No, not porn…well, yeah they’re looking at porn, but we’re not here to talk about that. Let’s take a look at seven apps and services currently trending in Japan. Yes, one of them is meant to be used while you’re on the toilet. Oh, don’t be surprised, it is Japan after all.